Sketching (A Little) in Ireland

Castletownbere Harbor

I did not bring painting materials to Ireland.   There would be no room in my luggage for the gear and wet paintings.   This trip was about visiting ancestral locales and covering as much of the country as we could.   The itinerary did not lend itself to the concept of a paint-out. I wouldn't change a thing about this, our inaugural trip, but I did occasionally long to paint. Mark my words, the next trip to Ireland will include painting!

Castletownbere and Bere Island Satellite Map

One morning, while in Castletownbere on the Beara Penninsula (all the way to the Southwest tip of Ireland), I sketched a scene of the gorgeous view looking out toward Bere Island.   See the satellite view for an aerial shot.  The green marker is where I was and the island to the southeast is Bere Island (the hill in the sketch.)  The vine charcoal was sorely lacking as a recording method.  I'm sharing a photo that is similar...it didn't capture the color either since it was twilight in that shot.

Sketching at Kilkenny Castle

Whilst (heehee) at Kilkenny Castle, I marginally satisfied the painting itch again and did some more sketching.   I sat inside the back gate, the location of some impressive statues.  I used vine charcoal and a drawing pad.  I didn't get far, and I didn't record who this was a statue of, but it was a woman with majestic layers of folds in her garb.  I liked the shapes against the low and dramatic light.

My husband came away with the more successful rendering with the cool photo of me measuring, showing his flare for composition.